National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

　　Although it is said to have been excavated from a site close to Dasaifu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, other details are not known. This jeweled pagoda sutra container consists of three parts; main structure, rooftop and spire, which give it a solid structure. The main structure consists of two parts; the body and a sealed lid (inrōbuta) and lines are inscribed to show a door on the side. The base section of the main structure is one step higher, and a circular plate made from bronze is fitted on the bottom. Inside the container, evidence was found that two Buddha statues and a sutra scroll called were stored inside, in addition to inscriptions using a needle incising technique indicating the year Eikyū 4 (1116). The form of the rooftop part is a polygonal hip roof (hōgyō zukuri) and the tiles put on the end of the ridge (tsutsumi gawara) are incised on a bronze plate at the decorative ridge (kudari mune). Close to the end, cloud-shape sacred jewels (uzu) are created and wind bells (fūtaku) hang from the edge of the hip rafters (sumiki). These two statues are small standing Buddhas made from bronze and are simply represented in such a way that both shoulders are covered by an old rectangular robe. It is assumed that they are Shakamuni (Skt. Śākyamuni) and Prabhutaratna (Skt. Prabhūtaratna) that appear in the 11th chapter of Lotus Sutra, “The Emergence of Treasure Stupa.” In addition to the statues, a miniature bronze bell was also excavated.
　　Although it is quite a shame that the other details are unknown, it is one of the few excellent jeweled pagoda sutra containers that has the year inscribed and holds statures inside. Moreover, the Buddha statues are also very valuable as bronze Buddha statues with gilding from the Heian period (794–1185) that specify the era they are from.